IPU-132 adopts Hanoi Declaration at closing session

Updated: 10:12’ - 02/04/2015

The 132nd Assembly of the Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU-132) and related meetings closed on April 1 in Hanoi with the adoption of the Hanoi Declaration.

Speaking at the closing session of the IPU-132, Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) and Chairman of the IPU-132 Nguyen Sinh Hung said, with the adoption of the Hanoi Declaration, the parliamentarians from 133 countries and 23 international and regional parliamentary organizations committed to promote the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs) through 2020.

The parliamentarians also proposed orientations and responsibilities of parliaments with respect to SDGs in the future, Hung said.

The Hanoi Declaration raised the voice of parliaments, contributing to protecting peace and enhancing cooperation among nations, the NA top leader said, adding that the declaration would be submitted as an official document to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015 for approval.

In the declaration, parliamentarians reaffirmed their vision of a people-centered sustainable development based on the realization of all human rights, to eradicate poverty in all its forms, and eliminate inequalities, thus empowering all individuals to exercise their full potential.

The parliamentarians committed to do their utmost to strengthen national ownership of the goals, particularly by making them known to their constituents.

“As representatives of the people, we are responsible for ensuring that each and every voice is heard in the political process without discrimination and irrespective of social status,” reads the declaration.

The parliamentarians also committed translating the goals into enforceable domestic laws and regulations, including through the critical budget process, to ensure that all the goals are met.

They define their responsibility to hold governments accountable for the goals they have subscribed to, and to make sure that enabling laws are passed and budgets adopted.

“Our first order of business must be to examine our institutions and decision-making processes to ensure that they are fit for purpose,” parliamentarians say in the declaration, adding “As representatives of the people, our concern is to defend the public interest and pursue the common good above all else. We must prevent particular interests from exercising excessive influence in our deliberations. We must focus on building consensus around practical solutions.”

The parliamentarians pledged to improve the quality and quantity of aid, set out an orderly sovereign debt restructuring mechanism, strengthen the environment for private sector investments, including through public-private partnerships, and reform the global financial, monetary and trade regime in ways that directly support sustainable development.

At the press conference after the closing session of the IPU-132, Chairman of the NA Foreign Affairs Committee Tran Van Hang said the parliamentarians proposed shifting to SDGs for the next 15-year period with 17 goals and 169 targets to be achieved.

Speaking about the significance of the Hanoi Declaration, Hang said the IPU-132’s theme “The Sustainable Development Goals: Turning Words into Action,” was directly associated with Vietnam’s socio-economic development guidelines in the years to come.

The declaration reflects Vietnam’s prestige in the international arena and marks a historical milestone of the IPU, Hang said.

The Hanoi Declaration affirmed to assure peace and security on the basis of the United Nations Charter and international law, he said.

During the IPU-132, the IPU’s Standing Committees adopted four important resolutions on cyber warfare - a serious threat to peace and global security; shaping a new system of water governance: Promoting parliamentary action on water; international law as it relates to national sovereignty, non-intervention in the internal affairs of States and human rights; and combating threat of terrorism conducted by organizations such as Boko Haram against innocent civilians, in particular women and girls.-